"Huh, well, I'd like to see him sometime." Dylan said with a small nod. He was always interested in everyone's pets, he loved creatures. They were all cute and cuddly, just like Dylan! Well, maybe not the cute part...but he could be cuddly, yeah. "Got any other pets at home or anything?" he then asked.

But the one creature he did not like was that darn squid. He tried hard not to shudder as the girl questioned him about it. Was he huge? Yes, he was...huge. And frightening. Dylan was pretty sure the thing would come into the Hufflepuff common room someday and snatch him up and take him away forever. The third year simply nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty big," he said as casually as he could sound. But when she asked if it tried to eat someone he wanted to cry. AHHH. The thing was so scary and the thought was driving him nuts now. He shook his head. "N-no, not that I know o-of..." he said, his voice starting to quiver a bit. He cleared his throat. "Get a hold of yourself, Callaghan!" he thought to himself. "Sorry, voice crack. But yeah I didn't see him do much, I had to leave and such." he added quickly.

Zander was so busy stumbling over his words, and just in general, that he hadn't even noticed the sleeve grabbing. Until she let go that is. Oh. This was uncomfortable. And awkward. And.... He definitely would not say anything about it. Because that would make things even more uncomfortable. Instead of saying anymore he completely shut up and looked at the girl's hand at the sudden retraction. And here comes the blush. GAH. Stupid easily-humiliated and pink-in-the-face reactions.

He let out a nervous chuckle. "I-uh-well-I," he cleared his throat too. "Well... this is sufficiently... awkward," he smiled. "I definitely almost wiped out in front of you." And she had noticed too. Considering the whole sleeve grabbing scenario that had just happened. "I guess I should introduce myself incase it happens again..." He let out a nervous laugh. "You know that way you'd be able to identify the body," Was that morbid? He was trying to be funny and create a smooth transition at the same time. But he was too nervous to let loose. AH. "Anyways, I'm Zander," he started holding out his hand for a handshake, but midway he realized the whole sleeve-grabbing arm reaching, and retracted. He'd probably get even redder at anymore contact with this girl.

As a young child, Simon had always loved treehouses. His father built one in the backyard during one summer. He spent all of his time up there with his brother and sister as they pretended to save damsels in distress and fight menacing dragons. His parents would have to lure the kids out of the treehouse with the prospect of dinner or lollies.

When he had overheard some of his fellow students speaking about a treehouse, he knew that he had to find it. Treehouses were awesome. They were fun and always a place to just hide away from the real world for a couple hours and recharge. He could think for once.

Simon walked to the edge of the forest and discovered the magnificent house. It was rather tiny upon sight. He frowned. From all the rumours he had heard around the school about how amazing this treehouse was, he couldn't comprehend how this small house could fit with everything they had heard. He started climbing up the rope ladder, refusing to look down.

Once up there, he entered the treehouse. His jaw dropped. His blue eyes widened becoming as big as saucepans. "Woah." he said and repeated it twice more. He blinked his eyes. This place was enormous! The building was much larger on the inside than on the outside. This was much more than he had expected. "This is awesome," he muttered and made his way into the room, glancing about all of it in awe.

Magic was awesome.

Ethan started to feel a lot better that day, as soon as he discovered this new spot. The treehouse is impressive all right, but the chair up the balcony was pure awesome. It was quiet, and doesn’t resemble any classroom, or the library or the study room in their dorm. The fresh, but cold air did help him relax and clear his mind after doing the practical part of their Defense Homework, back in the Duelling Arena. It was intense, all right? What with being disappointed with their last Potions class, he poured out his frustration and all the sad feels towards the dummy. The Slytherin should thank Professor Romanos for allowing them to blow those dummy up. Really a good stress-buster if you ask him.

The boy scrunched up his nose as he bit the end of his quill trying to remember the things they discussed in Defense the other day. See, he was doing his homework and his notes wasn’t helping. Ethan mentally slapped himself for failing to take down proper notes. He really should keep the doodling at bay. The Slytherin however, got distracted when he heard a voice. Looking up from his notebook, he saw a boy about his age appreciate what he saw. Was he a muggle born? Was it his first time to see or be in a Treehouse? Enchanted Treehouse?

Ethan grinned at the sight and threw his notebook on the table. “It is, isn’t it?” he said to the boy as he hung his arms on the railing and propped his chin on it, smiling at the new comer. “Are you new? Because I’m new too.” Hi. Hello. “I’m Ethan. Hi! Transfer student.” The boy waved at the other boy as he rummaged through his brain as to where he saw him before. He wasn't wearing his school robes, so it was harder to guess if the newcomer's a Slytherin or not.

But that face...? Yeah, he does look familiar.

Simon's eyes were still wide when he continued to gaze about the room in awe. This place was brilliant. This could be his secret hiding place. He glanced about the room. Oh, no, no, no. It would be too busy and filled with students who were also looking to get away from Hogwarts for a little while.

Hmmm..

He'd have to find another location. A more secret one.

Simon was brought away from his thoughts by a boy his own age agreeing with him about the place. Slightly startled, he turned to face the familiar looking boy and nodded. The boy looked so very familiar. He had seen him around in a couple of his classes and in the Common Room. "It is. Magic's amazing. I've been in this world for three years and I'm still taken back by all of this," replied Simon as he took in the sight of the room. It was all too magnificent for the muggleborn. How would he even begin to explain this concept to his little sister? She would be in awe and would demand to go to this place. Perhaps he oughtn't not explain it to her. What if she didn't have magical abilities too? He frowned slightly and dismissed that thought, making a note to focus on the present. "I don't even know how I'd explain this to my little sister. She'd love this place."

A small smile crept on his face when he learnt that this new boy that he was talking to was also new. He wasn't alone- hooray! There were other transfer students. There were people he could relate too. He nodded in reply to Ethan. "I'm new too. Hi Ethan. I'm Simon. Transfer student as well. I transferred from an academy in Australia," he explained with a warm grin. He paused, trying to place where he had seen Ethan before. Was it in the Common Room or somewhere else? It was one or the other... He was sure of it. "I... I think I may have seen you about in various classes and workshops. Are you a Slytherin too? I think I may have see you about the Common Room or something," explained Simon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireboltAvis88

He was flustered to the point, that he could feel himself blushing as he felt the now familiar warmth creeping up his neck and up to his face. Was it getting hot up here? Cris released another button from his shirt's neckline to allow for better circulation.

He had to laugh though when Demelza rattled off that he could be a good singer, even broadway potential. He laughed so hard as he visualized himself wearing a top hat, a bowtail suit, singing while tap dancing his heart out. Pan over to him just wearing jeans and a tank top, singing and dancing to the tune of How To Be A Heartbreaker. Cris smiled. Now that he could do.

"Rule number one, is that you gotta have fun,
But baby when you're done, you gotta be the first to run" Cris imagined himself singing in his rich baritone voice. Only, he was so caught up in his daydream that he didn't realize he was actually singing those words out loud.

Wait! Was Demelza saying something? Shaking himself out of his daydream, he heard Demelza say. Perfect. When and Where?

What? What had just happened? "When and Where What?" Cris blinked in surprise.

She had noticed the shirt unbuttoning. Well, sign her up for the How Long Does It Take to Get Cris to Unbutton His Shirt game. So far, Demelza couldn't help but think that she was winning. At this rate, those upper-body muscles would be revealed in no time. Not that it was her goal to get Cris' shirt off or anything. She did have a boyfriend, after all. But there was no wrong in looking, right?

Her head tilted to the side a little and an eyebrow rose when the pretty boy started laughing. Had she said something funny? Though she had her moments of comedic excellence, Demelza was quite certain that she hadn't made any jokes during their conversation. The young actress-to-be was about to scold Cris for laughing at what she had said about him possibly being Broadway material. The possibility was there, but she would have to hear him sing first. If anyone could pinpoint talent, it was Demelza Adalyn Diggle. That was the speech that was ready to come out of her mouth when...

CRIS WAS SINGING!

And then he abruptly stopped. "Why – why did you stop?" she asked him. More like whispered, actually. Demelza had been taken by surprise after spending Merlin knows how long to get him to sing to her. From what little bit she heard, Cris had a wonderful singing voice. She wanted to hear more, but had the feeling that wouldn't be happening any time soon now that he realized what he had been doing.

"When would you like to hear me sing? And where?" Demelza responded to his questioning. Was he so frazzled that he had forgotten that he had said he would like to see her perform? "You also mentioned someone named Jasmine. Feel free to invite her." And watch her lose the diva-off.

It was a joy to see someone, who is in awe really. Ethan couldn’t help but think on what the other boy was thinking at the moment…or how his brain was processing all that he is seeing. The Slytherin remained in that position as he watched his fellow. Being a pureblood has its pros and cons, and one of the downside of it is that he takes these things for granted. Ethan can’t help but be a bit jealous of him. You see, he is a pureblood but had the opportunity to live in a muggle world. Technically, he is ‘new’ to the wizarding world, but the concept of it was quickly grasped by Ethan’s mind thus missing the excitement. It was safe to say the he’s got the best of both worlds, though of course, he hasn’t realized this yet.

But enough about that! Look! Potential friend! Yaaaay!

Ethan perked up as soon as the boy started talking. So he is muggleborn! How cool, yeah? Now that’s something to be fascinated about. The Slytherin always categorized himself as somewhere in the middle when it comes to blood purity. Not that it matters to him. Heck, the point system in this school doesn’t even make sense to him. “The muggle world is a fun place too! I mean…I’m a pureblood, and I grew up in that world—and it fascinates me on how the muggles make things work. Or how…they associate the unexplainable to magic. Fun stuff.” Ethan beamed at the boy, but then caught sight of his frown. Did he say something wrong? Oh. Oooh. He’s got a sister! “I’m sure she will.” Nod nod. “How old is your sister? Is she old enough to attend Hogwarts?” Is she magical too? “I have a cousin! Well. Cousins, but I don’t talk to them much.” Nod nod. “Mordred’s like my brother. He went to Hogwarts too, a couple of years ago. Same house as me!” Aaaand that cousin of his is still baffled as to how Ethan ended up in the Snake house. “He’s studying Dragons right now in Russia. Cool, yeah?” If it was possible for the fourteen year old to do a jig in excitement, he would. But that wouldn’t be proper, no?

Now there’s his smile! Good. This bloke is a good one, he could tell. The Grayson guy is a bit shady, but he’s not closing his doors. The older Snake might just be picky with friends. Like Mordred. Heh. “Nice to meet you, Simon! Yup! I’m a Slytherin…just like you!” Waves and smiles for the boy. “Why don’t you come up here so we could talk?” He asked as he gestured at the empty armchair beside him. “The view’s good here too.” Magnificent, in fact. He didn’t even wait for Simon to take his seat, and just went on to bombard him with questions. “How do you like Hogwarts so far?” Big, no? “I transferred from Durmstrang. Not my cup of tea if you ask me.” Bloody weather. That place never saw the sun! “It’s always cold in the castle, the lectures are boring, but the activities are too rigorous. And…” Ethan leaned closer so only Simon could hear. “…the girls are prettier in this place. Not like in that bloody school. They look like deadly warriors.” No kidding.

Had he actually just sung to someone he had just met? No he couldn't have. But then when Demelza asked why he had stopped, he knew he had...unless she was referring to something else he had done. Nope! that was the only thing he thought he was doing silently in his mind and not out loud.

Well at least, she wasn't laughing at him. Now that was definitely a good thing. Even as he was thinking how he was going to get out of this slightly embarrassing situation, Demelza began to explaining about the when where what comment.

"Ah yes, hear you sing? Yes that would be nice. Where? Um...where would you feel comfortable performing?" Cris asked in turn. He didn't want her to sing where she would feel uncomfortable doing. Although judging from how confident she acted, Cris doubted that she would have that problem.

"Jasmine? I'll be sure to ask her to come along. I have a feeling you'd getting along really well," Cris nodded. Yes two pretty girls who liked dancing would definitely have a lot in common.

"So that settles the singing part what about the dancing and the acting?" Cris grinned back at her. Yes the challenge was on.

When Ethan mentioned that he was a pureblood, the topic of blood purity crossed his brain all of a sudden. Huh. Simon recalled some facts from history textbooks about some purebloods still didn't accept wizards who weren't plurebloods. Fortunately, he hadn't encountered a person like that yet. And besides, Ethan seemed as if he didn't care about blood statuses. He seemed like a genuine person. Simon raised his eyebrows curiously. A pureblood who had grown up in the muggle world? Merlin, that must have been an interesting experience. He nodded when Ethan asked him about his sister. "No not yet. She's only eight. I really wish that she gets in," he replied as he crossed his fingers for good luck. She would love this place. Simon was sure of it.

Ethan then brought up his cousins. Ethan's description of Mordred made this guy seem really cool. His jaw dropped in awe when he learnt that Ethan's cousin was studying dragons in Russia. "Dragons? Seriously? That's awesome! I wish I could do that. I'd love to do that after graduating from Hogwarts," exclaimed Simon becoming more and more drawn into the conversation. He was leaving his shell behind. He loved magical creatures and was especially fascinated by dragons.

Simon's eyes widened slightly at the mention of sitting down in the empty armchair. He nodded. "Uh, sure," he said as he made his way over. Before he could even sit down, Ethan had already asked him another question. The interrogation continued. The eagerness of the other boy had overwhelmed the Simon at first; however, soon enough, he began to feel more confident in his ability. "I really really like Hogwarts so far," began Simon before pausing. What did he like about Hogwarts? "The classes are better. The people are friendlier too."

Ethan had transferred from Durmstrang? Merlin.

Even Simon had heard about rumours about the foreign intimidating school that always had horrid weather. "You transferred from Durmstrang? Merlin, this must be a very different change for you.. Then you definitely wouldn't want to get on those girls' bad sides," he added, chuckling at Ethan's remark about the girls here. He glanced around the treehouse and then lowered his own voice. This guy seemed pretty cool. Definitely potential friend material. "The girls are prettier here, but I haven't met many yet or made many friends that are girls."

Feeling more relaxed in his chair, he asked Ethan, "Has it been easy for you.. you know to get to know people here?"

But did he know that not all muggleborn can access to the wizarding world? Ethan would love to share that piece of information, but genuinely decided against it seeing how hopeful Simon is. If ever he had a younger sister or brother, he would love to have them experience what he’s experiencing now. Mordred had been eager (in his own way) about getting Ethan into Hogwarts. They both shared the same experience—losing their mothers, and being educated in a bloody cold school. No wonder his cousin tirelessly worked on getting him to be in Hoggies, because the place suits him…or maybe Mordred just cares too much about Ethan. “Let’s hope for the best then.” The Slytherin gave his new friend a reassuring thumbs up. Who knows, yeah?

Now they were onto discussing Mordred and dragons! One of his favourite topics, as you can see. “Yeah! He’s been telling me stuff about dragons and their awesomeness. He’s probably assisting in the Russian Local Reserve right now. It’s Rugarth’s migration month.” Nod nod. Oh. Wait, he doesn’t know who Rugarth is. “Rugarth is the creature. He’s a Frost Dragon.” Ethan has no idea on how it looked like. “All I know about it is that it’s blue, and instead of breathing out fire, it produces frost. Which according to Mordred is as deadly as fire.” Fire and Ice. Ethan nodded furiously, obviously giving him the go to pursue Dragonology. “You should if you really wanna do it. I can ask Mordred to help you!” As for Ethan, he still doesn’t know what he wants, so good for Simon that he knows what to do with his life early on. “Mordred wanted to be an Auror first, but then decided to become a Dragonologist after meeting a real baby dragon here in Hogwarts.” Cool, yeah? “He said he wanted to work with his old Creatures Professor…err…I forgot his name.” But that professor’s full of epicness. He could tell. Mhm.

“…and there’s soooooo much to explore! Like this treehouse.” Maybe they could explore the grounds further if Simon wants. What better way to explore the secrets of Hogwarts with a friend, right? Right. “And yeah, I have to agree, people here are friendly.” Did he witness his sorting a few months ago? He was sorted into Slytherin but sat with the wrong people afterwards. The Hufflepuff people didn’t mind, and they were very accommodating. Elodie even offered him lollies, so it was perfect.

And yes, he did go to Durmstrang. Weird, isn’t it? Hehehe.

“Big change, mate. Big change.” Ethan sat up straight on his armchair and stretched. “It’s like the winter season never ends in that place. Not much sunlight, and the food is…overwhelming.” And yeah. The girls. Merlin. “I’d like to think the girls there are descendants of barbaric hoodlums. They tend to dominate over the boys, and I don’t know why. I survived though, so I’m good.” And yes, the girls in Hogwarts are prettier and friendlier…and they smell nice! Ethan leaned over his seat and gestured Simon to do the same. “They smell nice too, right? Back in Durmstrang most of them girls don’t shower for days.” Gross. Ethan made a face and chuckled. Yeah, he had to escape their smell most of the time by covering his mouth and nose with his uniform’s collar. Hahahaha!

“Meh…I don’t find it hard to make friends, you know.” Shrug. “I talk to everyone.” Aside from fellow students and professors, he talks to the Sorting Hat, and recently to the owls for his Astronomy Homework. Professor Flamsteed was right. He should be thankful that the owls didn’t poop on him while he made his stellar demonstration. “It’s easy to make friends around here.” He should…know this by now, yeah? “How about you? Do you have many friends back in Australia? Do you miss them?”

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireboltAvis88

Had he actually just sung to someone he had just met? No he couldn't have. But then when Demelza asked why he had stopped, he knew he had...unless she was referring to something else he had done. Nope! that was the only thing he thought he was doing silently in his mind and not out loud.

Well at least, she wasn't laughing at him. Now that was definitely a good thing. Even as he was thinking how he was going to get out of this slightly embarrassing situation, Demelza began to explaining about the when where what comment.

"Ah yes, hear you sing? Yes that would be nice. Where? Um...where would you feel comfortable performing?" Cris asked in turn. He didn't want her to sing where she would feel uncomfortable doing. Although judging from how confident she acted, Cris doubted that she would have that problem.

"Jasmine? I'll be sure to ask her to come along. I have a feeling you'd getting along really well," Cris nodded. Yes two pretty girls who liked dancing would definitely have a lot in common.

"So that settles the singing part what about the dancing and the acting?" Cris grinned back at her. Yes the challenge was on.

Cris obviously wasn't going to continue singing. What a bummer! He clearly hadn't heard her ask why he had stopped. It made Demelza wonder why he was so shy about his talent. Had the kids over at Durmstrang beat him up for singing and dancing? They certainly were not known for appreciating the arts. Or anything unless it involved beating the crap out of somebody and seeing blood. It was a good thing that Cris had transferred to Hogwarts. It was a step up from Durmstrang, there was no doubt about that.

Demelza couldn't help put giggle when he asked her where she would be most comfortable performing. It was nice that he had her best interests at heart. It was cute, even. No wonder why he was a Hufflepuff. But did he not know that a true actress, dancer, and singer could perform anywhere at any time? "Oh, I can do it anywhere," she said, brushing off location like it was no big deal. "Though, there are places here that could enhance the quality of sound and all that mumbo jumbo. Hmm."

The girl then paused to think about the places she had discovered within the past year. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to have the diva-off out on the grounds with it getting colder out. It could harm her vocal chords. And the girls' bathroom was a no-go. The Heir of Slytherin was probably back, and Professor Flamsteed was useless when it came to saving damsels in distress. The Room of Requirement was a possibility, though she had never actually found that place. Maybe...

"How about the spare office on the sixth floor? Sunday at four?" Then Demelza could treat herself to some victory pudding in the Great Hall for supper after she crushed Jasmine at the diva-off. Maybe she could get Cris to dance and sing for her then as well.

Again, Demelza giggled when Cris said the singing part was settled, but the dancing and acting was not. "Oh, Cris, you underestimate me," she replied, rolling her eyes. "I can do all of those at once. I'm just that good." She would understand if he didn't want to invite Jasmine now. The odds were in her favour, after all. "So, does that time and place sound good to you?"

Oh, he was looking at her hand. Was he upset that she'd grabbed his sleeve? Although, from Josie's point of view, she knew that she would've been actually grateful for someone preventing me from falling off a ledge. At least, she hoped someone would be nice enough to safe her from such a perilous fate. So perhaps, maybe a thanks would be coming from him soon, right? But from the looks of him simply staring at her hand from their touch, it didn't seem like words were in much favour for this boy.

Well, this was definitely seeming to be getting more and more awkward as the moments were flying by. She studied his expressions as he was still trying to come up with a sentence to give, but as he'd said (like within her own thoughts) this was sufficiently very awkward. The second year softly responded, "...T-That..would be...bad.." Actually, not even bad, more like terrible. A look of a slight terror was in her eyes as he'd tried to make a joke of the situation with him giving her his name before he'd actually fall next time. 'That way she could identify the body..' That was definitely not funny, not to her at least. She couldn't even come up with the words of how she was feeling at this precise moment right now. But those feelings had to be put to a halt as she'd found out the older boy's name. Zander. She took notice that he'd extended & retracted his hand for a shake, which made it only a little more awkward as she was just about to hold out her own hand to meet his. Instead to cover up the awkward motion, she quickly ran her fingers through her brown hair. To be polite she spoke, "M-My name's Josette.."

Simon grinned when Ethan reassured him. Yeah, Ethan was a good guy. Simon thought his new friend was pretty cool. “Yeah, definitely, mate. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.” He couldn’t tell his sister too much though. It would be mean if he made it seem like the best place on Earth (which it was!) and she didn’t get in. He’d feel horrible about the whole thing.

He sat up straighter in his chair and began eagerly listening to the dragon topics. Dragons were beautiful, power, menacing creatures that were terrifying yet at the same time inspiring. Rugarth, who? thought Simon but before he could ask more questions Ethan had already explained it. “Deadly as fire? That’s horrifying yet so cool at the same time. I wouldn’t want to ever get caught in that. Maybe they freeze your heart too like the Cold Ones that we learnt about in DADA the other day,” hypothesized Simon as his mind raced, searching for possible explanations to everything about these frost dragons. His eyes widened when Ethan, his new friend, offered to see if Mordred would help him. “Really?” he asked. No one had ever proposed something like that to him before. He nodded. “That would be really cool, mate. Thanks Ethan.” Simon continued to listen to his friend describe his cousin. Ethan really did look up to his older cousin. He wished that he had a person that he could look up to in that regard. He used to look up to his older brother until his brother decided to shut him out because Simon was too ‘bizarre’. Once again, he pushed the thought away and continued to listen to Ethan. “Was it Professor Williamson?” offered Simon with an excited grin. “He’s absolutely brilliant. I’ve read a couple of his papers on various magical creatures and their importance in the Wizarding World.”

Then they moved back to the Hogwarts grounds and all of the opportunities that lay before them. There was a lot too explore. Simon fully agreed with Ethan there. Hogwarts was a whole castle filled with mysteries that awaited them, but also homework awaited them too. Fun and homework always seemed to be paired together for the Australian adolescent. He nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard about secret passages and stuff like that. It would be really cool to explore those,” he added. Exploring those places would be the perfect way to start or end the weekend to him.

The winter never ended? Eugh. That sounded absolutely horrible. Still not used to it being cold from November to February, Simon felt quite relieved that his parents hadn’t sent him to Durmstrang. It was definitely one of the options; however, he had managed to sway his parents to send him to Hogwarts instead. He had done his research. He smirked when Ethan continued to describe the girls. “Glad you made it out of there alive. I probably wouldn’t have.” He wasn’t sure whether or not he could have survived in that environment. Simon probably would have kept to his studies and away from scary girls. He leaned forward to hear what Ethan had to share now. He scrunched his nose in disgust that some of those girls didn’t shower for days. “[size=”1”] “Don’t shower for days? That’s gross. That sounds nothing like the girls I went to school with. They would be trying to have two showers per day.[/size]”

Simon nodded. “I tend to be a little more shy than I am here. Recently, I’ve met a couple of Professors and students. I’ve helped the Ancient Runes Professor with Feo, his excitable crup. That was fun.” He paused when Ethan brought up the questions of friends back in Australia. His heart panged slightly at the thought of his two dearest friends. He made a mental note to owl them soon.“[B]I have a couple of friends that are my cousins and family, but I really only had two good friends in school. Anna and Chris. Anna was an exchange student from Beauxbatons for a year. Chris is still in Australia. He sent me an owl last week about him heading to the beach and not having to deal with the snow or as he liked to put it the ‘freezing fluffy white stuff’,” he explained. Chris was always found a unique way to put a spin on simple stuff.

"Do you have anyone you miss from Durmstrang?"

Okay... Maybe that joke was the wrong move... Really wrong move? He watched as she shifted uncomfortably and didn't laugh. Okay, yeah very wrong move. But he didn't know what to do, let alone what to say and he had never really talked to someone after such an embarrassing moment and this is why Zander preferred to stay all by himself and it's not his fault okay? Ah. Zander started to play with the end of his robe's sleeves uncomfortably. H-Hi, Josette..." he responded, a little relieved that she actually introduced herself instead of running away. "It's, uh, nice to meet you. I mean... not like this, but still nice... and uh... sorry about... uh... I'm not normally... I guess I just.." SPIT IT OUT, ZANDER! Jeeeez. The poor boy kept on trailing off mid sentence as his nerves kept on kicking in. This girl was probably wishing that she had run away because Zander definitely was.

"Sooo...." How do you swiftly change the topic without cracking another offensive joke? "You, er, come here often?" he said shuffling his hair out of his face. DOINK. What a dweeeeeb. You come here often?! What the heck, Zander. You're trying to meet new people, not repel them. He should've asked about her book or something. Merlin. "Maybe we should step away from the edge?" He suggested moving away from where he had almost fallen over. At least he said one thing that wasn't completely stupid? That's a start.

Connor looked back at her, seeing her smile. She was cute, but he hadn't really noticed until she'd smiled at him like that.. he nodded a little. "And it'll be warmer out, not so freezing!" He was aware he was being a bit of a baby about the cold but whatever!

"See, i keep hearing about all these weird things but i never see them, nothing that weird at all. I mean..i saw some Thestrals the other day at the stables, those are kinda weird..I hadn't seen them before. But..Nothing weird has happened?" He was confused, was he just missing it? or did they have a different definition of the word?

“Here’s a great idea.” Ethan said as he leaned forward clasping both of his hands in front of him. “Mordred told me that Hogsmeade weekend usually happens this time of the year. Maybe you could get your sister something from the stores.” Because it looked like Simon really, really cares for her sister. Whether she gets accepted or not in Hogwarts, at least she’ll get a taste of Hogsmeade. “What does she like? Sweets? Or…maybe she likes to write and stuff? My cousin told me that Hogsmeade is a quaint village with shops. Like a mini Diagon Alley.” They should totally go together and see what the village has to offer. “And maybe I could invite Mordred over so you guys can talk about dragons all day. How about that?” Ethan grinned at the idea and sat back comfortably on his chair. To be honest, he really misses the older guy and he can’t wait to tell him his accomplishments in school. He was sure Mordred was dying to know all about it. “Like what I said earlier, migration month is around this time, so he’d probably pass by Scotland on their way to the North Pole where Rugarth stays until spring.” Ethan got his notebook and pulled a picture of him and Mordred. “Here’s my cousin. That was taken before I left for Hogwarts earlier this year.” Really, it was nice of the former Slytherin to actually see him off. Busy bloke and all that, but he did exert extra effort to see that Ethan actually got to Platform 9-3/4 safe and sound. He didn’t want his cousin banging random barriers, no? Save him from unwanted embarrassment and such. Yup.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t want to be caught up in that kind of situation. Or be on the bad side of dragons. Jeez. That’ll be a nightmare.” The Slytherin shook his head wondering how Mordred deals with such creatures. He did mention years ago that he will be a Dragon Lord one day. The boy reckons that his cousin wasn’t joking. “I guess Rugarth’s wrath is more powerful than the Cold Ones. Those zombies can only freeze you once they made contact. But Rugarth! Wowzers. He could kill from a mile with his Frost Fire Thingamajig!” Dragons= 1 point. Cold Ones=0.

Professor Williamson! “He’s the one! Yeah, Mordred told me all about their CoMC class with Roro.” Funny name for a dragon actually, but then again, what do you expect from a bunch of Hogwartians, no? “They practiced how to hatch the dragon egg, walked a real baby dragon and gave it an oily bath.” Pool and all. Haha! Ethan hoped that they will have that much fun this time.

“I’m just happy that I’m out of that bloody school. Can you tell? My nose agrees.” Ethan propped his feet up the table and laughed. “It is gross. MERLIN. The cold weather was their excuse.” Understandable, but…very uncivilized. GranGran and Gramps Mordaunt wouldn’t be pleased. If he was one of those people, he was sure that he will be disowned in no time. That might be too much, but his family on his real father’s side observe strict rules, tradition, and all that elite stuff one could think of.

And did Simon say Crup? “I’ve seen the Student Noticeboard! I haven’t met Professor Botros, but I’d love to meet him AND his crup. I like them creatures, you see. I’ve got a dog back home. His name is Momo; a black French Bulldog. He’s Mordred’s Christmas present to me a few years back. MERLIN. My pet FARTS a LOT.” Ethan shook his head in disbelief and laughed at the same time. Even his dog has a sense of humor. “Do you have a pet?” Maybe they could share care tips and such, yeah?

Durmstrang? “Meh. None really. Well, I have cousins there who is in the same year as us, but I don’t really talk to them.” He’s got…painful and weird reasons as to why. Maybe Simon will get to know about those things in the future. Removing the slight frown on his face, he replaced it with a quick grin. “To be honest, I somehow miss the snow. I always go outside of the castle to go snowboarding on my own back in Durmstrang.” See the beauty of growing up in the muggle world? “Are you into sports and such?” Because he's got his snowboard and skateboard tucked away under his bed back in their dorm. He ought to put it into good use soon, yeah?

Adelaide laughed. "Winter's gonna take some getting used to for you huh?" Poor guy. She was a little chilly and she was used to this type of weather. Had to suck coming from somewhere so warm and then having to deal with this.

Addi was intrigued by the mention of thestrals, even if she knew what that meant. "You can only see thestrals if you've seen someone die." Meaning she'd never seen one. Hopefully she wouldn't have to for a very long time. "The quidditch threats are weird but not really. Oh wait. I lied. Everyone started getting really old last term. That was werid."

Connor nodded. "Yupp, probably will be..I'm planning on not leaving the castle when i don't have to." He joked a little, it wasn't too bad yet, but he knew it would get there very very soon.

He nodded. "That's what i was told. We didn't have any at Salem, so this is the first time i've seen any.." They were odd looking creatures..kind of like horses but more skeletal. Hmm. "Old? Like...elderly? Or just older? And..the students? And teachers? Like everyone?"

This really was getting more and more awkward. That was the only feeling she could come up with right now. There was no other way to describe it. It was actually more curious to know who was feeling more awkward right now, because he was seeming to fumbling more so with his words than she'd ever done. Looking a bit puzzled as she tried listening to him come up with an actual sentence, which was only making her start to...sympathize with the older boy. Although according to him, he's not normally like this. She bit her lower lip as she silently waited for him to finish...introducing himself? "..I-It's..um..nice to meet you too.."

A bit of puzzled look as she'd noticed he changed the subject. It might have been the best idea to do, since the both of them were both feeling this terrible awkwardness. Josie had to think about that for a moment to his next question, but then it didn't take long to come up with an answer. "I-I guess not..T-This has only been my second-second time here.." Now he definitely couldn't have been one of those terrible people her father had been continuously warned her about before she'd left home last year. From the looks of it, he didn't seem dangerous at all. So far at least. Although by all of this nervous fidgeting & fumbling of words he was doing, the second year was feeling a little..comfortable per say? The second year looked at him as he spoke once again. She nodded in response, "..W-We could go..um..there", pointing back inside the tree house inside itself..away from any ledges or balconies.

"You say that now. Wait until you see how much fun it is to play in the snow." Adelaide did not care that she was seventeen years old. Playing in the snow was still the most fun thing she could think of. She grinned.

Addi nodded, biting her lip. Poor Connor. He was too adorable and happy-go-lucky to have to deal with something like death. "Yes. Very elderly. Most of the students. I lucked out and didn't get it. But yes greying hair, bad eyes sight, awful joints, the works." She was glad all those people had been fixed.

Hogsmeade sounded like a nice quaint village. A good escape from the castle when there was nothing to do other than homework. Plus getting something for his little sister would be perfect. As much as Allison loved books, she always would prefer candy as a gift. She was a proud self-proclaimed choc-aholic. "She love love loves candy, especially anything with chocolate in it." Extra emphasis on love there. His sister's favourite holiday was halloween because their parents would give them a bag of candy each. Simon didn't have a really big sweet tooth growing up so he'd always end up giving a third of his candy to his sister. Simon blinked a couple of times when Ethan said that he'd see if Mordred would come and visit. Seriously? He'd get his awesome cousin who worked with dragons to come and visit??? Meeting someone in the field of dragonology would be a dream come true for Simon and also getting something for Allison would make him feel better.

"It certainly would. I hope that the dragons aren't too moody. It would be hard to keep them in line," he said, thinking about how hard it must have been for people who worked with dragons to make sure they didn't do anything too damaging to the muggle world. Simon nodded at Ethan's observation about how Rugarth was a much powerful creature. "Well then, I'll make sure to have a Frost Dragon on my side if I ever run into one of those weird zombies!" he laughed lightly.

"Roro? Who's Roro?" asked Simon curiously as he couldn't tell whether Roro was a person or a dragon. Strange name for either a person or a dragon... But everyone has their own preferences, of course. "Wicked! I hope we get to do something as exciting as that soon. Working with dragons in COMC would be so much fun. Terrifying but exhilarating."

He nodded. "Yeah, I can." admitted Simon, chuckling. Just from listening to Ethan's description and other's opinions about the school, Durmstrang sounded like a scary place to be in. Hogwarts seemed much nicer and reasonable.

"He's a pretty cool guy. I haven't spoken to him much to be honest, but I know Feo quite well. I'm taking him out for a walk tomorrow around the Lake if you'd like to meet him. He's very very very friendly," explained Simon as he thought about the first time he took Feo out for a walk. The Crup darted back and forth between older students about the Black Lake. He couldn't sit still. The amount of energy that the creature had was impressive. He almost felt as if 'over-excitable' may have been an understatement. Ethan had a dog back home? Nice. Simon laughed as he mentioned that Momo farted a lot. "Mine used to do that too. He was a german shepherd though. We all thought it was something in the food that we gave him, but no matter what the kitchen would smell horrible. So then my parents built a doghouse in the backyard just for Max." He missed Max a lot. Max had been his best friend as a young child.

Cousins who wouldn't speak to him but were in the same year? Ouch, that was rough. However, Simon sort of understood what Ethan had met. His own brother refused to speak to him because of his 'strageness' or magic. They hadn't spoken in years. His old best friend had become a perfect stranger. "I've never been snowboarding before. I went skiing a very long time ago; however, I'm afraid I'm not that good at it." Then Ethan asked him what sports he played. Simon wasn't too much into sports as he had always leaned more to the academic side of school. His brother had played almost every single sport offered at their school. Was research a sport? No, he thought not. "I swim and have played cricket occasionally. I'm not too good at cricket though. I'm out of shape," he laughed. Swimming and research were his sports.

"Do you do other sports? Or have you ever tried any of the magical sports?"

Connor chuckled a little and nodded. "All right, we will have to see what i say when it snows. Maybe I'll change my mind about being inside." He hadn't seen snow that many times and when he had seen it at school he had been too cold to care about it, or too busy with friends and stuff, but he would be making new friends here, friends who liked to play in the snow.

Connor made a face, that sounded dreadful! Being old and junk. "Why did they turn old? What happened?" Were they cursed or something? Was it dark magic? Or just a prank gone wrong? Either way, he didn't want history to repeat itself.

"I'll be sure to find you. I'll drag you out if I have to." Addi figured she probably could. She still had most of her beater's strength in her. She really couldn't wait for the snow though. Snowmen and snowball fights were definitely a necessity.

"It had something to do with one of Professor Botros' potions going wrong. I don't remember exactly what though." It hadn't really concerned her, just a couple of her friends. So she didn't think it was important to remember.

Connor laughed a little bit. "Oh? I'll have to try and make it a challenge then.." He joked, She wouldn't have to. He wasn't avoiding going outside that badly. He was sure he'd have to do it eventually anyway.

Oh? Something with a teacher, that was...interesting. Yupp, not strange at all, nothing to worry about. This was not a normal school. "Oh, Well..I'll have to keep that in mind. In any case, i haven't seen any of the weird stuff yet." He said and pulled away from the window, leaning against the wall, it felt warmer inside, no cold air on his face.

Zander was so uncomfortable and by the way this run-in was going this Josette girl was probably beyond uncomfortable too. Who wouldn't be? This was bad. This was not going well at all... Zander rocked back and forth and fidgeted around a little. He was starting to sweat and it seemed like the redness in his face was becoming a permanent color in this ever-so-lasting state of awkwardness. When would it stop?! At her remark Zander visibly softened. Wooh. It was nice to meet him too. Okay. That was something good. Except she was probably making it up. Because this situation was anything... but nice. Or at least, that's what Zander thought about it. "Yeah, uh, I can't believe we haven't met before... You know with all the classes and... stuff," he had totally seen her in classes before. That definitely happened.

"Oh, really?" SEEE his sentences were becoming more fluid. He's making an improvement. "It's so nice up here.... I just love the view," he admitted with a shy smile. There was smiling going on. And not the forced kind either. Can the redness go away now? Pleeeeaaasseee. Yes. Josette! Over there is a wonderful suggestion. Away from any chance of falling and sleeve holding and whatnot. Yes. Wonderful.

"Yeah, that's a uhm, good idea," he started walking over to wear she had pointed, hoping that the girl was following behind. This would've actually been a great time for her to run away. But that would've made things even worse for a future run-in. So Zander was desperately hoping that she didn't. The Gryffindor noticed that the questions he had asked didn't really ignite a conversation in the least bit. It was all just silence. And not one of those reliving nice silences, but one of those awkward, uncomfortable ones. "Sooooo... What book is that?" he said gesturing to the one that the girl had been reading earlier.